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Rising O's wrote:I'm of the potentially ignorant opinion that stars make the team better. What I mean is that on an individual basis, and in a vacuum environment, Fiedler only adds 5 wins. But that's not how the game is played, as his impact and presence will improve the entire offense. So what you have is +1 or +2 for 4 or 5 other guys in the line-up as a result so you end up with 10-15+ wins. It doesn't solve all of the Orioles problems but it starts you on the path to relevance. We're an AL team so offering 7 years should not be a problem and spending the money shouldn't even be a consideration.

What worries me is that Angelos will spend the money on Fielder and cut back on other areas like player development. In five years when Fielder's contract is untradeable our farm system will dry up and we'll look back at this season as "the glory days".

Can they really cut back on player development more than they already have though? I mean, it's not like we have a good farm system now.

Matt P wrote:Can they really cut back on player development more than they already have though? I mean, it's not like we have a good farm system now.

Yes, they can and have in the past.

One of the positive things that MacPhail has done is raise the amount the team has spent on Rule 4 (June) draft picks but even that had it's limits. Does anyone doubt that Hobgood was a budget signing so that we could spend the money on overslots later in that draft? Just an extra 1.5M on the 1st round selection in 2009 would have allowed us to upgrade to Mike Leake, Mike Minor, Zach Wheeler, or Tyler Matzek. We spent less in bonus money for the 2011 draft than we did in '10' and almost nothing for international signings. Want to bet that the budget for '11' went to Vlad?

If Peter Angelos would publicly commit to doubling the development budget I wouldn't care what he spends on ticket sellers like Fielder but I don't want him to try to sell more tickets by placating the fans with a big name signing at the expense of the one vehicle we have to build a winning team: the farm system.

Many of those commentators recommend against signing Fielder. I agree UNLESS Angelos is willing to publicly acknowledge that player development is the path to winning and commit to spending what's necessary to build a top rated farm system.

If signing Vlad or Lee prevents us from fully funding the minor league system so that we can compete in the AL East then I may as well stop rooting for this organization until the owner sells. What's the point in worrying over it or being against signing Prince Fielder? The owner is going to do what he wants, all I can do is decide what is in the best interest of the organization and root for it to happen. If the owner is too cheap or poor then, oh well.

I see a lot of people are talking about Prince Fielder in Baltimore. If I am CAA and Prince, it might be wise to do a heavy 3 year deal. I just think it is in his best interests to go three years at 75 million and hit free agency at 30 with a last time deal.

I think he ages better than his father and a solid season at in that last year of the deal would put him in line for a 5 year deal at top dollar. Overall, he would see 8 years of top dollar and more money in those years over any long term deal.

Taking an outside look as well...I think the Orioles could be aggressive this winter. I mean they made the moves this season to say the "Core" is here and add to it. I know they do not need the offense, but they need the go to consistent bat in the lineup.

If it were me, I would look to trade one or two guys and try to get a quick jolt of players that can start to help next season. But this organization does not show a plan, hopefully the new GM gives them a better direction than the current mixed signal operational moves...

Who cares how Prince Fielder will age?? Assuming he gets a 6-7 year deal, that puts him at 33-34. He certainly is more athletic than David Ortiz and would put comparable if not higher numbers, barring unforseen injuries. My point here is simple: we need a power hitting cleanup guy and solid first baseman to boot. He brings a definite 5 WAR to your lineup. That's twice of what our beloved Markakis is doing. Bottom line: SPEND the $25-27 mil per and get this guy signed and let's get this road to recovery started